Old Trucks: And Winter’s Snow

Weather, in many of its seasonal forms has provided me with many opportunties to make interesting photographs. On occasion, I have found myself out and about with my camera in dense fog, driving rain, and cold. Sometimes, it can be uncomfortable but in the end I am usually pleased with the resulting images.

Like the old barns I’ve photographed on my travels along some Okanagan backroads several  old, decaying trucks have caught my eye. Sometimes, the sites around the old truck have too many distractions thus reducing the possibility of making interesting compositions.  So,  I make a mental note to return when weather conditions like fog or snow might provide ‘cover’ from the distracting elements. If the old vehicle is close to home  I’ll make several return visits to hopefully compose ‘better’ images.

When making my images I like  use the bracketing function on my camera to ensure  I have made the best possible exposure. I make 5 different exposures of the same composition. From these I select the exposure that has the best tonal range. 

I’ve included 5 images with this article.  My plan when making these images was to employ ‘Artistic License’ to create an interesting work of art. From the starting starting point of a properly exposed image I begin to work with it in my specialized software to give it an artistic look and feel? I like to use software produced by Topaz Labs in particular Simplify, Texture Effects and  Impressions. Each has endless possibilities for image enhancement. Once I start on an image I ‘play’ until the ‘look’ I create just seems to pop. 

The Dehard Road Barrel Truck is close to home. I’ve photographed it many times in all seasons of the year. Winter is my favourite season to photograph this truck but Fall would be a close second. 

The Casorso Truck is also close to home but only recently has it become  ‘photogenic’. Previously, it was surrounded by too much clutter and detritus. For some unknown reason it was moved to a new location of its property. There were still some background distractions but with snow and/or fog there would be some great possibilities. 

The East Kelowna Flat Bed is surrounded by orchards and vineyards. It looked to me that it is still operational. Unfortunately, it has been moved to a nearby location that is surrounded by machinery and junk.

The Bulman Road truck was located at the south end of the Kelowna International Airport. I made a few images of the truck while I was out shooting a nearby barn. At the time I was concerned about the piles of orchard bins in the background so only made a few images. Sadly for me, this old truck has been removed from this site.

Several years ago I had driven my grandson to Oliver, B.C. for a hockey game. Prior to the game I set out on a short drive around the outskirts of town to see if there was anything to photograph. Passing a nearby auto wrecking yard I saw Oliver Relic resting in the ditch. 

As I write this article very cold weather and hopefully snow is in the offing.  I have located two ‘new’ relics to photograph. I’m looking   forward to photographing them.